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<title>Nostrums: Cutting Salt Has Little Effect on Heart Risk</title>
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The meta-analysis, by The Cochrane Review, included six randomized clinical trials. It found that people who cut their dietary salt intake in half were able to modestly lower their blood pressure. Medication, however, was more effective than dietary change.        </p><p>
But even when the trials were examined collectively, they still were too small to provide proof of significant differences in heart events and deaths, possibly because people have a hard time sticking to a low-salt <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/food-guide-pyramid/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Diet and Nutrition." class="meta-classifier">diet</a> over time, the authors said.        </p><p>
Much of the earlier evidence that suggested greater benefits from low-sodium diets was drawn from observational studies comparing different population groups, rather than randomized trials, which are considered the gold standard in medicine, said the review’s lead author, Rod S. Taylor, professor of health services research at Peninsula Medical School at University of Exeter in England.        </p><p>
Dr. Taylor said that people should still try to limit salt in food but that additional steps, like warning labels about salt content in processed foods, are needed. “The results do not mean that asking people to reduce salt intake is not a good thing,” he said.        </p>
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